Featured Stories

Solera Chef Jorge Guzman with Gunnar Liden of the Youth Farm and Market Project

Farm in the Cities: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The two groups that anchor the Twin Cities' food and restaurant renaissance--the growers and the chefs--came together in impressive numbers Sunday night for Farm in the Cities, the second annual celebration of furrow-to-table hyperlocal food culture, held at our preeminent Spanish restaurant, Solera. And Managing Photographer Bill Kelley was there.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Downtown

A virtual tour of the new Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The massive renovation of the Minnesota Orchestra's home is far from over, but that doesn't mean we can't tour the completed Orchestra Hall digitally.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Design

Downtown

Rock The Garden: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Last Saturday afternoon, the big green field next to the Walker Art Center--where the Guthrie Theatre once stood--morphed into the city's biggest open-air music venue for Rock the Garden 2012. Bill Kelley's images capture the indie-energy.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Nightlife

Downtown

Don Mitchell, Seitu Jones and Chancee Martorell

A confab on Hennepin's future wraps up with a question: Who owns public space?

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, June 13, 2012

In the final Talk-It Hennepin forum on the redevelopment of Hennepin Avenue, experts touched on some touchy subjects, like the purpose of public space, who gets to use it and how, the role of memory in placemaking, and how to celebrate diversity without creating ethnic Disneylands.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Strong Local Economy

Downtown

A Line or Two: The Walker Performs

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 23, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities. Call it an editor's note as blog entry. This week: a preview of what the Walker has in store for its stage.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Nightlife

Downtown

Can "design thinking" create a community of innovators?

Karen Olson Wednesday, May 16, 2012

"Design Thinking" isn't just about planning an object and making an image of it. It's a process of innovation that emphasizes engagement with real human issues--and it's arrived at CoCo, the local coworking space, in an educational initiative aimed at helping tech entrepreneurs and other freelancers open their minds even wider.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Higher Education

Downtown, Downtown/Lowertown

Charles Landry in Minneapolis: From art in the city to the city as art form

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, May 16, 2012

In town to talk about the Central Corridor, Hennepin Avenue, and other local nodes of city planning, lauded urbanist Charles Landry called for an approach that integrates the cities' diverse cultures into a rich, essentially artistic, mix--and makes everyone feel appreciated and included.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Transit Oriented Development

Downtown

Candy Chang asks: "What do you want In Minneapolis? What do you want in St. Paul?"

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, May 02, 2012

The New Orleans-based public artist, known for whimsical, low-tech projects that get people talking about the intersection between their cities and their lives, was here to kick off an inquiry into the transformation of Hennepin Avenue and the future of our towns.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Strong Local Economy

Downtown

Geoffrey Canada in Minneapolis: "Get Ready for Your Moment"

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, April 18, 2012

From books to documentaries to television appearances, Geoffrey Canada has earned accolades as an education reform leader and the head of Harlem Children’s Zone. Last week he was in Minneapolis to speak to a convention of youth and educators involved in the service-learning movement, where he told them "you never know when you'll be needed."

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Talent Dividend

Downtown

Dayton's Bluff and Swede Hollow in the 19th Century

A Line or Two: Hikes and History

Jon Spayde Wednesday, April 11, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities--call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. This week: A web site that makes hiking through our towns an exercise in historical imagination.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Regionalism

Dayton's Bluff, Downtown, West Seventh

Hennepin's History and Hennepin's Future

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Native American trail, gaudy entertainment district, forge of gay consciousness, showcase of the arts: Minneapolis' Hennepin Avenue has been all of these and more. Recently, historians, urbanists, and the public gathered to explore the avenue's colorful history as part of the city's initiative to shape its future.

Affordable Housing, Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Nightlife, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Downtown

VideoLine: A Slightly Frantic Google Street View Tour of Minneapolis

eluko79 Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Capturing hundreds of sequential Street View images from Google Maps using ScreenHunter software, then stitching them together and time-lapsing them in Windows Movie Maker, the peripatetic highway videographer who goes by the YouTube handle eluko79 has created a real-but-virtual photographic journey into the heart of the city.

Riverfront/Mill District, Downtown, Lake Street, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Calhoun - Isles

Verdict: The "Buy Local" Campaign Helped Central Corridor Businesses Stay Healthy

Dan Heilman Wednesday, February 01, 2012

An aggressive, and unconventional, marketing campaign to keep people coming to Central Corridor businesses during light rail construction in 2011 appears to have paid off in less business decline than expected--and a mood of cautious optimism about the future.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Midway, Downtown, Saint Anthony Park, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

Big Table's Big Ideas

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, January 18, 2012

It's a hip hybrid of retail poster shop, design studio, and coworking space where some of Saint Paul's most entrepreneurial artists gather around--yes!--a big table. And it's a bold move to help build up downtown, too.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Entrepreneurship

Downtown

Big Table Posters: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Twin Cities poster scene is flourishing, and one of its epicenters is Big Table Studio in Saint Paul, which Camille LeFevre profiled a couple of weeks ago. Herewith are Managing Photographer Bill Kelley's images of some of his favorite posters on display and for sale at Big Table, by various local artists, celebrating love, evil, beer, bikes, bands, and other exciting facts of life.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, Entrepreneurship

Downtown

Downtown : Featured Stories